Why Lionel Messi is not Representing Argentina in the Rio Olympics

Star footballer Lionel Messi will not be part of the Argentine team when it competes for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, this coming August.

The announcement, according to SkySports, was made by Argentina coach Gerardo Martino over the weekend.

The coach revealed that he does want Messi to be burnt out, since he will lead the team during the Centennial Copa America this coming June in the United States.

"Messi won't go to the Olympic Games because there is a lot of competition for the national team this year. We have the Copa America, the Olympic Games and after that four rounds of the qualifiers," Martino noted.

He added that he would really like to win with Messi on his team, but "but not at any price, nor for throwing the players on to the pitch for them to die there."

It can be remembered that Messi led Argentina to claim the gold medal in Beijing eight years ago.

According to a similar ESPN FC report, Messi's Barcelona team also has a very heavy schedule during their tournaments.

Martino noted that exposing Messi to competition after competition would be too much for him.

He explained that this would not only be damaging for the footballer, but also to the team.

But even though the Argentine coach expressed plans for Messi to rest and not exhaust himself with the games, the player has expressed that he remains to be ambitious in soccer, per a report in Mirror.

"I want to win everything," he was quoted by the same report as saying.

Indeed, Messi can be considered a winner in a lot of things. Last month, he once again bagged the Ballon d'Or award for the world's best player.

BBC noted that this is the fifth time for the 28-year-old soccer player to receive such recognition. It added that he received 41.33 percent of the votes, besting worthy competitors Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid and teammate Neymar.

Last year, Messi was able to play in 61 games where he made 52 goals and 26 assists.

A similar Daily Mail report added that Messi was successful in reclaiming his crown from Ronaldo, who won last year. The Argentine player also bagged the award in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

"It is a very special moment for me to be back on this stage having watched Cristiano (Ronaldo) win it for the last two years. It is incredible that it is my fifth Ballon d'Or, it is more than anything I could have dreamed of when I was a kid," the FC Barcelona star said after accepting the award.